The cosmic microwave background (CMB) provides a powerful tool for testing modern cosmology. In particular, if inflation has occurred, the associated gravitational waves would have imprinted a specific polarized pattern on the CMB. Measurement of this faint polarized signature requires large arrays of polarization-sensitive, background- limited detectors, and an unprecedented control over systematic effects associated with instrument design. To this end, the ground-based Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) employs large-format, feedhorn- coupled, background-limited Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) bolometer arrays operating at 40, 90, and 150 GHz bands. The detector architecture has several enabling technologies. An on-chip symmetric planar orthomode transducer (OMT) is employed that allows for highly symmetric beams and low cross-polarization over a wide bandwidth. Furthermore, the quarter-wave backshort of the OMT is integrated using an innovative indium bump bonding process at the chip level that ensures minimum loss, maximum repeatability and performance uniformity across an array. Care has been taken to reduce stray light and on-chip leakage. In this paper, we report on the architecture and performance of the first prototype detectors for the 40 GHz focal plane.
The SAFIRE, the Submillimeter and Far InfraRed Experiment, was designed for interstellar physics in the airborne
Observatory SOFIA. SAFIRE is a cryogenic Echelle Grating spectrograph for covering 27 to 470 microns, with R
ranging from 2-6,000. Here we will discuss the details of the optical design, the design process, and the performance of
the instrument.
The balloon-borne PIPER instrument will observe the polarization in the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
at 200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz. Two co-pointed telescopes are placed inside a 3000 L liquid helium dewar and
cooled to 1.5 K. The telescopes are arranged so that one measures Stokes parameters Q and V while the other
measures U and V . Each telescope consists of a variable-delay polarization modulator (VPM) as the primary
optical element, two off-axis mirrors, a folding flat, and re-imaging optics with off-axis lenses that focus each of
the orthogonal linear polarization signals through an analyzer grid and onto two bolometer arrays (one for each
polarization state). A cold Lyot stop is imaged onto the VPM to define the entrance pupil of the telescope. Each
telescope has a 6° × 4.7° field-of-view.
We are constructing the Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) to measure the polarization of the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) and search for the imprint of gravity waves produced during an inflationary epoch in the
early universe. The signal is faint and lies behind confusing foregrounds, both astrophysical and cosmological, and so
many detectors are required to complete the measurement in a limited time. We will use four of our matured 1,280 pixel,
high-filling-factor backshort-under-grid bolometer arrays for efficient operation at the PIPER CMB wavelengths. All
four arrays observe at a common wavelength set by passband filters in the optical path. PIPER will fly four times to
observe at wavelengths of 1500, 1100, 850, and 500 μm in order to separate CMB from foreground emission. The arrays
employ leg-isolated superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers operated at 128 mK; tuned resonant backshorts
for efficient optical coupling; and a second-generation superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)
multiplexer readout. We describe the design, development, and performance of PIPER bolometer array technology to
achieve background-limited sensitivity for a cryogenic balloon-borne telescope.
The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne instrument designed to search for
the faint signature of inflation in the polarized component of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Each
flight will be configured for a single frequency, but in order to aid in the removal of the polarized foreground
signal due to Galactic dust, the filters will be changed between flights. In this way, the CMB polarization at a
total of four different frequencies (200, 270, 350, and 600 GHz) will be measured on large angular scales. PIPER
consists of a pair of cryogenic telescopes, one for measuring each of Stokes Q and U in the instrument frame.
Each telescope receives both linear orthogonal polarizations in two 32 × 40 element planar arrays that utilize
Transition-Edge Sensors (TES). The first element in each telescope is a variable-delay polarization modulator
(VPM) that fully modulates the linear Stokes parameter to which the telescope is sensitive. There are several
advantages to this architecture. First, by modulating at the front of the optics, instrumental polarization is
unmodulated and is therefore cleanly separated from source polarization. Second, by implementing this system
with the appropriate symmetry, systematic effects can be further mitigated. In the PIPER design, many of the
systematics are manifest in the unmeasured linear Stokes parameter for each telescope and thus can be separated
from the desired signal. Finally, the modulation cycle never mixes the Q and U linear Stokes parameters, and
thus residuals in the modulation do not twist the observed polarization vector. This is advantageous because
measuring the angle of linear polarization is critical for separating the inflationary signal from other polarized
components.
One technique for mapping the polarization signature of the cosmic microwave background uses large, polarizing grids
in reflection. We present the system requirements, the fabrication, assembly, and alignment procedures, and the test
results for the polarizing grid component of a 50 cm clear aperture, Variable-delay Polarization Modulator (VPM). This
grid is being built and tested at the Goddard Space Flight Center as part of the Polarimeter for Observing Inflationary
Cosmology at the Reionization Epoch (POINCARE).
For the demonstration instrument, 64 μm diameter tungsten wires are being assembled into a 200 μm pitch, free-standing
wire grid with a 50 cm clear aperture, and an expected overall flatness better than 30 μm. A rectangular,
aluminum stretching frame holds the wires with sufficient tension to achieve a minimum resonant frequency of 185 Hz,
allowing VPM mirror translation frequencies of several Hz. A lightly loaded, flattening ring with a 50 cm inside
diameter rests against the wires and brings them into accurate planarity.
We present images taken with the first deployed astronomical instrument to use multiplexed superconducting bolometers. The Fabry-Perot Interferometer Bolometer Research Experiment (FIBRE), a broadband submillimeter spectrometer, took these images as a detector investigation at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). FIBRE's detectors are superconducting bilayer transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers read out by a SQUID multiplexer. An order-sorted Fabry-Perot provides illumination of a 16-element linear bolometer array, resulting in five orders at a spectral resolution of around 1200 covering the 350 micron atmospheric band. We present multiwavelength images of Jupiter, Venus and the high-mass star-forming region G34.3+0.2 taken with this instrument at several wavelengths in the 350 micron band, separated by approximately 8 microns. These images have validated the use of multiplexed superconducting bolometers in an astronomical application and have helped inform the design of our future instruments.
We describe the design and construction of a Variable-delay Polarization Modulator (VPM) that has been built and integrated into the Hertz ground-based, submillimeter polarimeter at the SMTO on Mt. Graham in Arizona. VPMs allow polarization modulation by controlling the phase difference between two linear, orthogonal polarizations. This is accomplished by utilizing a grid-mirror pair with a controlled separation. The size of the gap between the mirror and the polarizing grid determines the amount of the phase difference. This gap must be parallel to better than 1% of the wavelength. The necessity of controlling the phase of the radiation across this device drives the two novel features of the VPM. First, a novel, kinematic, flexure is employed that passively maintains the parallelism of the mirror and the grid to 1.5 μm over a 150 mm diameter, with a 400 μm throw. A single piezoceramic actuator is used to modulate the gap, and a capacitive sensor provides position feedback for closed-loop control. Second, the VPM uses a grid flattener that highly constrains the planarity of the polarizing grid. In doing so, the phase error across the device is minimized. Engineering results from the deployment of this device in the Hertz instrument April 2006 at the Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO) in Arizona are presented.
Precise astronomical polarization measurements generally require the use of polarization modulation. We have developed a new modulator, the Variable-delay Polarization Modulator (VPM) which uses two modified Martin- Puplett interferometers to induce a physical path length difference between polarization components. This highly durable and efficient device can easily be adapted to a wide range of wavelengths and temperatures, making it well suited for air- and space-borne facilities. This paper discusses the basic modulator design and a comparison to the half-wave plate, as well as details of VPM tests conducted at the Submillimeter Telescope Observatory (SMTO).
We describe the development, construction, and testing of two 384 element arrays of ion-implanted semiconducting cryogenic bolometers designed for use in far-infrared and submillimeter cameras. These two dimensional arrays are assembled from a number of 32 element linear arrays of monolithic Pop-Up bolometer Detectors (PUD) developed at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. PUD technology allows the construction of large, high filling factor, arrays that make efficient use of available focal plane area in far-infrared and submillimeter astronomical instruments. Such arrays can be used to provide a significant increase in mapping speed over smaller arrays. A prototype array has been delivered and integrated into a ground-based camera, the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC II), a facility instrument at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). A second array has recently been delivered for integration into the High-resolution Airborne Widebandwidth Camera (HAWC), a far-infrared imaging camera for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). HAWC is scheduled for commissioning in 2005.
The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy's (SOFIA's) High resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC) will use an ion-implanted silicon bolometer array developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The GSFC Pop-Up Detectors (PUDs) use a unique "folding" technique to enable a 12 x 32 element close-packed array of bolometers with a filling factor greater than 95%. The HAWC detector uses a resistive metal film on silicon to provide frequency independent, ~50% absorption over the 40 - 300 micron band. The silicon bolometers are manufactured in 32-element rows within silicon frames using Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) silicon etching techniques. The frames are then cut, "folded", and glued onto a metallized, ceramic, thermal bus "bar". Optical alignment using micrometer jigs ensures their uniformity and correct placement. The rows are then stacked side-by-side to create the final 12 x 32 element array. A kinematic Kevlar suspension system isolates the 200 mK bolometer cold stage from the rest of the 4K detector housing. GSFC - developed silicon bridge chips make electrical connection to the bolometers, while maintaining thermal isolation. The Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) preamplifiers for all the signal channels operate at 120 K, yet they are electrically connected and located in close proximity to the bolometers. The JFET module design provides sufficient thermal isolation and heat sinking for these, so that their heat is not detected by the bolometers. Preliminary engineering results from the flight detector dark test run are expected to be available in July 2004. This paper describes the array assembly and mechanical and thermal design of the HAWC detector and the JFET module.
The Fabry-Perot Interferometer Bolometer Research Experiment FIBRE, a protoype submillimeter spectrometer for astronomical observations, is based on a helium-cooled scanning Fabry-Perot and superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers (TES). The TES design takes advantage of a recently discovered method of excess noise reduction by depositing lateral normal metal bars on these devices. A SQUID multiplexer is used to read out the individual detector pixels. The spectral resolving power of the instrument is provided by a Fabry-Perot spectrometer. The outgoing light from the Fabry-Perot passes onto a low resolution grating for order sorting. A linear bolometer array consisting of 16 elements detects this dispersed light, capturing 5 orders simultaneously from one position on the sky. With tuning of the Fabry-Perot over one free spectral range, a spectrum covering Δλ/λ =1/7 at a resolution of ~1/1200 can be achieved. This spectral resolution is sufficient to resolve doppler broadened line emission from external galaxies. FIBRE operates in the 350 μm and 450 μm bands. These bands cover line emission from the important PDR tracers neutral carbon [CI] and carbon monoxide CO. The spectrometer is used at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory for astronomical
observations.
HAWC (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera) is a facility science instrument for SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy). It is a far-infrared camera designed for diffraction-limited imaging in four spectral passbands centered at wavelengths of 53, 89, 155, and 216 μm. Its detector is a 12x32 array of bolometers cooled to 0.2 K by an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator. In this paper, we report on the development and testing of the instrument and its subsystems.
The High Resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC) and the Submillimeter And Far Infrared Experiment (SAFIRE) will use identical Adiabatic Demagnetization Refrigerators (ADR) to cool their detectors to 200mK and 100mK, respectively.
In order to minimize thermal loads on the salt pill, a Kevlar® suspension system is used to hold it in place. An innovative, kinematic suspension system is presented. The suspension system is unique in that it consists of two parts that can be assembled and tensioned offline, and later bolted onto the salt pill.
The Submillimeter and Far-InfraRed Experiment (SAFIRE) on the SOFIA airborne observatory will employ a large-format, two-dimensional, close-packed bolometer array. SAFIRE is an imaging Fabry-Perot spectrometer operating at wavelengths between 100μm and 700μm. The array format is 16×32 pixels, using a 32-element multiplexer developed in part for this instrument. The low backgrounds achieved in spectroscopy require very sensitive detectors with NEPs of order 10-19 W/√Hz. An architecture which permits 512 pixels to be placed adjacent to each other in an area the size of a postage stamp, integrate them with multiplexers, and provide all the necessary wiring interconnections is a complex proposition, but can be achieved. Superconducting detectors can be close-packed using the Pop-Up Detector (PUD) format, and SQUID multiplexers operating at the detector base temperature can be intimately coupled to them. The result is a compact array, easily scalable to kilopixel arrays. We describe the PUD architecture, superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers we have manufactured and tested using the PUD architecture, and the electronics of SQUID multiplexed readouts. We show the design and assembly of the mechanical model of a 512-element bolometer array.
SHARC II is a background-limited 350 μm and 450 μm facility camera for the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory undergoing commissioning in 2002. The key component of SHARC II is a 12 × 32 array of doped silicon 'pop-up' bolometers developed at NASA/Goddard. Each 1 mm × 1 mm pixel is coated with a 400 Ω/square bismuth film and located λ/4 above a reflective backshort to achieve >75% absorption efficiency. The pixels cover the focal plane with >90% filling factor. At 350 μm, the SHARC II pixels are separated by 0.65 λ/D. In contrast to the silicon bolometers in the predecessor of SHARC II, each doped thermistor occupies nearly the full area of the pixel, which lowers the 1/f knee of the detector noise to <0.03 Hz, under load, at the bath temperature of 0.36 K. The bolometers are AC-biased and read in 'total power' mode to take advantage of the improved stability. Each bolometer is biased through a custom ~130 MΩ CrSi load resistor at 7 K and read with a commercial JFET at 120 K. The JFETs and load resistors are integrated with the detectors into a single assembly to minimize microphonic noise. Electrical connection across the 0.36 K to 4 K and 4 K to 120 K temperature interfaces is accomplished with lithographed metal wires on dielectric substrates. In the best 25% of winter nights on Mauna Kea, SHARC II is expected to have an NEFD at 350 μm of 1 Jy Hz-1/2 or better. The new camera should be at least 4 times faster at detecting known point sources and 30 times faster at mapping large areas compared to the prior instrument.
We have built a prototype submillimeter spectrometer, FIBRE, which is based on a helium-cooled scanning Fabry-Perot and superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers (TES). SQUID multiplexers are used to read out the individual detector pixels. The spectral resolving power of the instrument is provided by the Fabry-Perot spectrometer. The outgoing light from the Fabry-Perot passes onto a low resolution grating for order sorting. A linear bolometer array consisting of 16 elements detects this dispersed light, capturing 5 orders simultaneously from one position on the sky. With tuning of the Fabry-Perot over one free spectral range, a spectrum covering Δλ/λ=1/7 at a resolution of ~1/1200 can be achieved. The spectral resolution is sufficient to resolve doppler broadened line emission from external galaxies. FIBRE operates in the 350 μm and 450 μm bands. These bands cover line emission from the important PDR tracers neutral carbon [CI] and carbon monoxide CO.
The spectrometer was used at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory to obtain the first ever astronomical observations using multiplexed arrays of superconducting transition edge bolometers.
Large format, two dimensional arrays of close-packed bolometers will enable submillimeter cameras and spectrometers to obtain images and spectra orders of magnitude faster than present instruments. The South Pole Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (SPIFI) for the AST/RO observatory and the Submillimeter and Far-InfraRed Experiment (SAFIRE) on the SOFIA airborne observatory will employ a large-format, two-dimensional, close-packed bolometer arrays. Both these instruments are imaging Fabry-Perot spectrometers operating at wavelengths between 100μm and 700μm. The array format is 16×32 pixels, using a 32-element multiplexer developed in part for this purpose. The low backgrounds achieved in spectroscopy require very sensitive detectors with NEPs of order (formula available in paper). Superconducting detectors can be close-packed using the Pop-Up Detector (PUD) format, and SQUID multiplexers operating at the detector bas temperature can be intimately coupled to them. We have fabricated and assembled an engineering model array of close-packed bolometers with a multiplexed readout that features a very compact, modular approach for large format arrays.
George Voellmer, Christine Allen, Michael Amato, Sachidananda Babu, Arlin Bartels, Dominic Benford, Rebecca Derro, C. Dowell, D. Harper, Murzy Jhabvala, S. Moseley, Timothy Rennick, Peter Shirron, W. Smith, Johannes Staguhn
The High resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC) and the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera II (SHARC II) will use almost identical versions of an ion-implanted silicon bolometer array developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The GSFC "Pop-Up" Detectors (PUD's) use a unique folding technique to enable a 12 × 32-element close-packed array of bolometers with a filling factor greater than 95 percent. A kinematic Kevlar suspension system isolates the 200 mK bolometers from the helium bath temperature, and GSFC - developed silicon bridge chips make electrical connection to the bolometers, while maintaining thermal isolation. The JFET preamps operate at 120 K. Providing good thermal heat sinking for these, and keeping their conduction and radiation from reaching the nearby bolometers, is one of the principal design challenges encountered.
Another interesting challenge is the preparation of the silicon bolometers. They are manufactured in 32-element, planar rows using Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) semiconductor etching techniques, and then cut and folded onto a ceramic bar. Optical alignment using specialized jigs ensures their uniformity and correct placement. The rows are then stacked to create the 12 × 32-element array.
Engineering results from the first light run of SHARC II at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) are presented.
Doyal Harper, Christine Allen, Michael Amato, Troy Ames, Arlin Bartels, Sean Casey, Rebecca Derro, Rhodri Evans, Ian Gatley, Stephen Heimsath, Alfonso Hermida, Murzy Jhabvala, Joel Kastner, Robert Loewenstein, Samuel Moseley, Robert Pernic, Timothy Rennick, Harvey Rhody, Dale Sandford, Richard Shafer, Peter Shirron, George Voellmer, Shu-i Wang, Jesse Wirth
When SOFIA enters operation, it will be the largest far- infrared telescope available, so it will have the best intrinsic angular resolution. HAWC (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera) is a far-infrared camera designed to cover the 40 - 300 micron spectral range at the highest possible angular resolution. Its purpose is to provide a sensitive, versatile, and reliable facility-imaging capability for SOFIA's user community during its first operational use.
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